Space Seed (episode)
The Enterprise discovers an ancient spaceship carrying Augments from 1996 Earth. Summary In 2267, the SS Botany Bay, a DY-100 class Starship was discovered drifting in space by the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). Because of the fragmentary historical records on the era, the Enterprise crew mistook the ship's crew for refugees from the Eugenics Wars. However, the individuals were all genetically engineered "super humans" and their leader Khan Noonien Singh, one of the worst tyrants ever seen on Earth. Khan seized control of the Enterprise with the aid of Enterprise historian Lt. Marla McGivers and abandoned his former ship. Khan held Kirk captive in Dr. McCoy's decompression chamber, and the rest of the bridge crew in the briefing room. Khan threatened to kill the Captain if Kirk's crew didn't join with him. McGivers came to Kirk's aid by knocking out the guard watching Kirk. Spock flooded the ship with knockout gas, but Khan was able to avoid the gas by escaping to Engineering and cutting it off. Kirk and Khan came to blows in Engineering, with Kirk eventually defeating the "super human." Kirk dropped all charges against Khan and his people, and gave them the option of settling on the uninhabited world of Ceti Alpha V, an offer which Khan accepted. McGivers was given the option of a court martial or going with them; she chose to go with Khan. Log Entries *''Captain’s log, stardate 3141.9. A full hour has elapsed since interception of the strange vessel. Our presence alongside is still being completely ignored. Although our sensors continue to show signs of equipment and life aboard, there's been no indication of danger to us. '' *''Captain’s log, supplemental. Alongside the SS Botany Bay for 10 hours now, a boarding party of engineering and medical specialists are now completing their examination of the mysterious vessel. Attempts to revive other sleepers await our success or failure with the casualty already beamed over. Dr McCoy is frankly amazed at his physical and recuperative power. '' *''Stardate 3142.8. They have my ship, discarding their own worthless vessel. Only moments of air left on the bridge now. Commendations recommended for Lieutenant Uhura, Technicians First Class Thule and Harrison... Lieutenant Spinelli... and, of course, Mr. Spock. I take full responsibility... I take full... '' *''Captain’s log, stardate 3143.3. Control of the Enterprise has been regained. I wish my next decisions were no more difficult. Khan and his people, what a waste to put them in a reorientation center… and what do I do about McGivers? '' Memorable Quotes "Records of the Period are fragmented however. The Mid 1990's was the era of your last so-called world wars." "The Eugenics Wars" : - Spock and McCoy "Where am I?" "You're in bed, holding a knife at your doctor's throat." : - Khan Noonien Singh and McCoy "Your air should be getting quite thin by now. Do you surrender the bridge?" "Negative." "Academic, Captain. Refuse and every person on the bridge will suffocate." : - Khan and Kirk "You fled. Why? Were you afraid?" "I've never been afraid." "But you left at the very time man needed courage." "We offered the world order!" "We?" : - Kirk and Khan "Joaquin, the trip is over. The battle begins again; only this time it is not a world to win. It is a universe." : - Khan "Those men went on to tame a continent. Can you tame a world?" "Have you ever read Milton, Captain?" : - Kirk and Khan "It's a shame for a good Scotsman to admit it, but I'm not up on Milton." "The statement Lucifer made when he fell into the pit: 'It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven.' ''" : -'''Scotty' and Kirk "Each of you in turn will go in there! Die while the others watch!" : - Khan Background Information * The feature film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a sequel to this episode. * The 'Eugenics Wars' and the notion of genetically augmented humans, has also served as background for several episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise - "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", and "The Augments" * John Arndt (Fields) was a regular extra; he also played unnamed crewmen in TOS: "Miri" and "Dagger of the Mind." When Arndt appeared in TOS: "Balance of Terror," his character was named Fields. His part seems to have been edited out of this episode. * One questionable take from this episode occurs when the camera pans over the mostly unconcious bridge crew as Kirk records his captain's log with commendations for the fallen crew. There are 7 visible people on the bridge, but seem to be 8 in total (with the navigator, later seen in Khan's prisoner's row but not in the bridge sequence). From the beginning of the pan it shows Spock, Uhura, Brent (played by Frank da Vinci), Leslie (played by Eddie Paskey), a red-shirted extra (played by Ron Veto), Spinelli and then Kirk. Kirk reads off the names of only five crewmembers however: Uhura, Thule, Harrison, Spinelli and Spock. It seems that one reference is intended to be to the Eddie Paskey character, but that is unlikely since Kirk mentioned both with the rank "technician first class" and the Leslie uniform has lieutenant stripes. While it is odd that Leslie (and the unnamed-in-this episode navigator who is sometimes referred to as Hadley) was skipped in the mentions, it leads to the conclusion that the red-shirted man was Harrison (or possibly Thule, who remains unseen, unless it was meant to refer to blue-shirted Mr. Brent). There are mentions of a female character named Baker in the briefing room scene, sometimes credited to Barbara Baldavin. * Mr. Leslie is invited to attend the banquet with Khan. * The Botany Bay was later recycled as the ore freighter in "The Ultimate Computer". * Although Lt. Kyle is wearing a blue coverall in the transporter room, stock footage of James Doohan's hands and red sleeves (with Lt. Commander rank stripes) are inserted as the crew is beamed to the sleeper ship. * As the Enterprise takes the Botany Bay in tow, you can faintly see the draped stand the models were resting on floating along in space with them. * Although only one hallway of the Botany Bay is seen in detail, the design crew took the time and effort to build the beginnings of several other corridors with their own life-support canisters, despite their only being seen for a few seconds. * In the event that Leonard Nimoy had decided to leave the series in the second season, Blaisdell Makee was one of the actors on the list of possible replacements. * As William Shatner rings the court bell at the end of the episode, DeForest Kelley looks as though he is about to break into the giggles. * Perhaps the most-noted blooper in TOS occurs when Shatner knocks his phaser off his belt while smashing the glass on Khan's hibernation unit. * Another blooper: As Kirk turns to leave Khan's quarters and the door slides open, we see a security guard in the corridor. When the scene cuts to Kirk exiting into the corridor, the guard is played by another actor—Bobby Bass, who is bulkier and has less hair. * In this episode, "The Menagerie, Part I", and "The Menagerie, Part II", we see the other end of the briefing room set-- a wall with a viewing screen was added in. Usually the room is only seen from the end nearest to the door. However, the rotating viewer, usually seen on the top of the table, is missing here. * This is the only appearance by John Winston in which he has no dialogue, although in "Catspaw" he will only speak two words. *George Takei (Sulu) does not appear in this episode. * The superman hypoed by McGivers in sickbay will later be seen as a Klingon in the final planet scene in "Errand of Mercy". The identity of this extra is not known. * Lieutenant McGivers wears no braid on the sleeves of her uniform. * One of the instruments on the back wall of the Botany Bay eventually found its way to the Transporter Room, as a scanner (with an added viewer that was similar to the one on Spock's Science station) in the second season. * The "clubs", one of which Kirk worked out of the Engineering console to subdue Khan, were never used, or even seen, in any other episode. * In accepting exile to Ceti Alpha V, Khan references (and Kirk later clarifies) Satan's words from Book 1 of John Milton's Paradise Lost: "Here we may reign secure; and in my choice / To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: / Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" (261-63). Script vs. Screen * In writer Carey Wilber's original treatment, the Khan character is a Nordic superman named Harold Erricsen. * There are scenes in the Second Revised Final Draft, dated , that were either unfilmed, or not aired: ** Lieutenant Marla McGivers has a scene with Yeoman Baker in which Baker informs her that Lieutenant Hanson wants to go to a ship's dance with her. McGivers tells her to tell Hanson to get lost, that she is waiting for a man who will "knock down my door and carry me to where he wants me." ** This same Yeoman Baker, as noted above, in the script, has a couple lines of dialogue as the court recorder at Khan's trial. Remastered Information *"Space Seed" was the eleventh episode of the remastered version of The Original Series to air. It premiered in syndication the weekend of . For the revamped episode, a highly detailed model of the Botany Bay was created, aged and weathered appropriately. :''The next remastered episode to air was "The Menagerie, Part I". Links and References * VHS edition available through Amazon under ISBN 6300213285 * 2-episode DVD (with "A Taste of Armageddon") ISBN 0792160959. Starring * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock Guest Stars * Ricardo Montalban as Khan * Madlyn Rhue as Marla Featuring * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * Blaisdell Makee as Spinelli * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Mark Tobin as Joaquin * Kathy Ahart as Kati (credited as "Crew Woman") * John Winston as Kyle (credited as "Transporter Technician") Uncredited Cast * William Blackburn as Hadley * Frank da Vinci as Brent * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Ron Veto as Harrison * Joan Johnson as a female guard * Bobby Bass as a security guard * Ian Reddin as Crewman #2 * Joan Webster as Nurse Stunts * Gary Coombs as Kirk's stunt double * Chuck Couch as Khan's stunt double References SS Botany Bay; CQ; Ceti Alpha V; Ceti Alpha system; carotid artery; DY-100; DY-500; decompression chamber; Eugenics Wars; Gamma 400 system; Ling; McPherson; John Milton; Mutara Sector; Otto; Rodriguez; sleeper ship; Starbase 12; Thule. External Links * Space Seed article at the Non-Canon Star Trek Wiki Category:TOS episodes de:Der schlafende Tiger es:Space Seed fr:Space Seed nl:Space Seed